Friday, February 23, 2007

A few interesting news stories

"A sweeping investigation into the backdating of stock options at more than 100 companies has so far led to relatively few enforcement actions or resolutions.

Lawyers and executives at the companies under scrutiny have been waiting to see how investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as those by United States attorneys, will play out.

In particular, they have been looking at one of the first cases, Brocade Communications"

Multibillion-dollar mergers are not the only way to bring stock exchanges together. Many exchanges around the globe are instead connecting through stake sales, partnerships and joint ventures with their overseas peers. The price tags, if there are any, are tiny, but the hope is that these alliances will set the stage for more substantive ventures in the future

"The Bush administration said Thursday that there was no need for greater government oversight of the rapidly growing hedge fund industry and other private investment groups to protect the nation’s financial system.

Instead, the administration, in an agreement it reached with the independent regulatory agencies, announced that investors, hedge fund companies and their lenders could adequately take care of themselves by adhering to a set of nonbinding principles."